The GT Association (GTA) has announced today that Bridgestone and Dunlop have been chosen as the Autobacs SUPER GT Series’ official tyre suppliers, each agreeing to three-year contracts which begin in 2027. Bridgestone will manufacture and supply tyres to all teams in the GT500 class, while Dunlop will do the same in GT300.
Each tyre manufacturer will construct three types of dry weather compounds (soft, medium, and hard) for their respective classes; GT500 teams may choose any of the three compounds to use for any race weekend, while Dunlop will choose two of its three compounds for teams to use on a race-by-race basis.
Bridgestone has long been the preferred choice in GT500, claiming insurmountable records of 28 GT500 Drivers’ Championships, 26 Teams’ Championships, and of 196 race victories in the premier class since the establishment of the All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship (JGTC) in 1994. Even in a shortened season, Bridgestone is expected to reach 200 victories in GT500 before the season finale at Mobility Resort Motegi, when SUPER GT’s long-running “tyre war” comes to an end.
In 2026, Bridgestone supplies tyres to 12 out of the 14 GT500 teams on the grid, excluding only TGR Team WedsSport Bandoh (using Yokohama tyres) and Modulo Nakajima Racing (using Dunlops).
Meanwhile, in what could be seen as a minor surprise, Dunlop has outbid Yokohama to secure the first exclusive GT300 tyre supply contract.
Dunlop recently become a unified brand of tyre worldwide (in all but a few non-automotive specialist markets) under the ownership of Sumitomo Rubber Industries. Teams with Dunlop rubber have combined to win three GT300 Drivers’ Championships, four GT300 Teams’ Championships, and 41 races in the category since 1994.
Currently, Dunlop only supplies tyres to four GT300 teams – R&D Sport, Gainer, D’station Racing, and LM corsa – versus the 17 cars using Yokohama tyres in 2026.
Yet it has outbid Yokohama, the most successful tyre in the history of the GT300 category, to capture the exclusive rights through 2029. Yokohama Rubber will bow out of SUPER GT at the end of the season and shift full focus towards its activities as the sole tyre supplier to the Super Formula Championship.
Michelin, likewise, will also wind down its limited activities in SUPER GT, a seemingly inevitable development following its exit from GT500 after the 2023 season.
In addition, Dunlop tyres will be used by SUPER GT GT300 teams who elect to take part in next year’s 51st running of the Suzuka 1000km, racing against regular Intercontinental GT Challenge and GT World Challenge competitors using their Pirelli tyres.
Voluntary 2027 tyre testing is expected begin on Monday following the conclusion of the Fuji 300km at Fuji Speedway. The current plan is for tyre tests to be carried out after each remaining race weekend: In GT500, at least one car per manufacturer would be present at every test, while GT300 testing would be open to whichever teams are willing to participate.
Images courtesy of Work Wheels
